Liesmith No Longer

Chapter 1

Tony was rudely awoken by a blaring alarm, right in his ear. He groaned, pushing his head deeper in his paperwork pillow.

"Jarvis, I thought we agreed you wouldn't wake me up until twelve?"

"Yes, sir, you did order that." The cultured voice of his A.I. spoke.

"Then remind me later to stick you into a toaster right next to Dum-E." They both knew it was an empty threat.

"As I was trying to say, Sir, threat Level: 'Lean, Mean, and Green' and Prince Odinson have just landed on top of the Tower."

Tony jerked up, cursing. His chair toppled backwards, with Tony in it. "Why didn't you lead with that, Jarvis?" Tony looked around frantically, scrambling up. "Suit! Fuck!"

He leapt onto the donning pad and ordered his armor to fold up around him. It did, quickly and efficiently. He flew out of his workshop, zooming up to the roof. Loki probably was in full armor, destroying his beautiful Tower, oh! His new helipad stood no chance. Tony moaned in horror. Loki, crashing around his Tower. Loki, throwing Thor off the building and making a huge crater. Loki, completely obliterating everything!

His repulsors whined as they loaded to full power, pointing directly at.... a gagged, wrapped-up-in-enough-chains-to-look-like-a-Christmas-present-chained-up, surrounded-by-seven-guards, pretty-much-incapacitated Loki.

Oh.

Well.

Tony landed, his face plate sliding up.

"Well." Tony kept his eyes trained on Loki warily. "You're back." Tony wasn't sure if he was talking to Thor or Loki, but Thor responded anyways.

"I am, Man of Iron." Thor boomed. Tony discretely had JARVIS turn on the sound dampeners in his helmet. "Worry not, for Loki has been secured and can harm no one."

Tony's eyebrow raised ever-higher. "Let's talk inside," he suggested eventually.

--

Loki seated himself on the edge of the "sofa", as the Terrans called it, wary eyes watching the door and the Avengers seated across from him. His body was tight as a live-wire, ready to bolt at a moment's notice.

For the most part, the Avengers elected to ignore him, except for Barton, who kept his eyes on Loki while still listening to Thor explain Loki's sentence. Loki remained tense, however; he had not survived this long without being cautious, even overly so.

"So, Reindeer Games, what d'you do in your free time? Well, other than murdering and trying to invade perfectly innocent planets?" Stark suddenly asked, brown eyes snapping to green.

Loki scoffed. "As if I'd tell a puny mortal like you," He snarled, keeping up his ruse. At least, that was what he wanted to say. A red light enveloped his vocal chords and lips, forcing words from his throat. He nearly choked as they came out, against his will. "I am quite partial to literature."

Loki desperately tried to stop the pounding of his heart and his lungs from attempting to break the sound barrier. His words weren't his own, silver-tongue turned to holes, more like-

Stark hummed in acknowledgement. "Hey, JARVIS, could you download the entire Harry Potter series onto Reindeer Games' Starkpad?" Loki somehow managed to roll his eyes at the ostentatious name. "Ooh, and the Percy Jackson, Kane Chronicles, the like. Don't forget the one with Magnus, I'm sure he'd get a kick out of that." Stark turned to look at him. "You look like a reading kind of guy."

"I'm doubt you could figure out what I like, tiny ant that you-" Loki felt a yank on his chest, momentarily losing his breath. Blackness clouded the edges of his vision, and a sharp burst of pain erupted on his shoulder. "-are."